In May, Michigan couple Christopher and Antonia Hernandez thought it would be a great experience to take their kids camping. They had recently purchased 10 acres of land and wanted to see what living on their newly acquired land would be like. The couple packed up their supplies, tents, and six kids, and headed to the great outdoors to live off the grid for the summer.

The property was close to a state park, so the couple purchased a pass to use its facilities for their hygiene needs. The family brought a stove to cook on, a generator, solar lights, five 6-gallon tanks of water, food, and animals to help offset the need to purchase food.

Everything seemed to be going well, at least until day nine. The parents left the property to go do laundry at a local laundromat, leaving their kids in the care of their nearly-16-year-old son.

Upon returning to their campsite, the couple discovered a county sheriff’s deputy was there along with a representative from Child Protective Services. The deputy stated that there had been a report of “squatters” being on the land. The couple provided documentation that they had recently purchased the land–and had every legal right to be on it.

The Hernandez family thought the ordeal should have ended there, but it didn’t. The CPS representative was concerned about the children’s living conditions and filed several complaints against the couple, including the following:

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The family was not in a “stable” living environment

The family had no electricity or water source

Children were playing in the woods, being cared for by a 15-year-old

The youngest child, 7 months old, had a diaper rash

The couple’s 17-year-old daughter, who suffers from cerebral palsy, was cold

All six children were removed promptly from their parents’ custody. The children were away from their parents for 21 days.

The case ended on June 10th, with the court returning the children back to their family. The only reason that the case was closed and the family reunited was the connection Antonia Hernandez and her children had to Native Americans.

The mother and children were eligible for enrollment into the Tlingit Native American Tribe. The Federal Indian Child Welfare Act makes it harder to divide Native American families. Had it not been for this connection to the tribe, the family feared that the case would still be going on, and that their family would be needlessly separated.

The family stated to the press: “The government has tried to standardize what a home is and what a home must have, without consideration for the children’s needs are being met or not…this was not a case of neglect, but a case of the government telling us how we have to raise our children, that we must have electricity and we must have running water. We can’t stay in a tent for the summer. To the government it makes no difference if the children are happy and healthy. We need to conform to their idea of normal or they can take your children away.”